Noke News explores parts of Roanoke by foot, equipped with a camera and a notepad, in hopes of learning something new. Perhaps you will too.

I’ve spent several posts exploring the Roanoke River Greenway over the last several weeks, and I’m not finished with that series yet, but I wanted to take a slight detour and check out another area landmark that is Wasena Bridge.

Plaque on Wasena Bridge

I actually took these pictures back in late April and the views that the bridge provides (of Wasena Park and part of the Roanoke River Greenway) are what ultimately led me to walk down there and see what this greenway stuff was all about.

Wasena Bridge is located as part of Main Street SW, with one end sitting at the intersection of Ferdinand and Elm Avenues.

Traveling on the Wasena Bridge

Like other bridges in the Roanoke area, this one was constructed to provide a way over the Roanoke River and nearby railroad tracks.

A view from the Wasena Bridge

And of course the bridge gives a great view of one side of Wasena Park. In the background, just in front of the row of trees is the Roanoke River Greenway.

Wasena Park as seen from the Wasena Bridge

Speaking of that greenway, we’ll explore another section of it next week.

In the meantime, have a great weekend!

There is a local channel that many of us have here in Roanoke, and one that I actually stumbled upon by accident.

I subscribe to the very basic service from Cox Cable, which consists of only the first dozen or so channels in total (primarily the local channels and a few others).

So, I can flip through the channels to see what’s on can in less than 30 seconds. On a particularly dull TV watching evening I came upon WCOX (Channel 9) and noticed a familiar face.

It was Gene Marrano and his show, The Interview, where as the title states he simply interviews someone of local interest in the Roanoke Valley. Some years ago I proudly worked with Gene’s campaign when he ran (unsuccessfully) for a local political seat.

On this episode he was talking with Gwendolyn W. Mason of the Roanoke City Council, someone I knew virtually nothing about by the way. Other episdoes have featured local activists, authors, and politicians.

Great show, Gene, good to see you again and doing well.

In addition to this show there are others on WCOX (Channel 9) that I plan to talk about in the future as I’m able to watch them.

A very popular shortcut in Roanoke is a road that runs basically through a section of Towers Shopping Center.

It’s formally known as 23rd Street S.W. In fact, I believe because traffic is so heavy on the road that sometime ago oversized speed bumps were built to slow drivers down.

This road links Brandon and Colonial Avenues and prevents having to drive all the way to the corner, at the intersection where a CVS store is now located.

No Left Turn

Well, as of several days ago the traffic on this road is probably a good bit less than it has been.

When traveling northeast on Colonial Avenue (going from The Roanoker towards Towers Shopping Center) a sign and raised center median are in place to prevent left turns to 23rd Street SW

As part of recent construction in the area access to this road has been restricted to help minimize its use as a shortcut, and overall improve traffic flow. Espeically to help improve traffic flow coming off of I-581/Route 220 during peak times of the day.

Automobiles traveling northeast on Colonial Avenue (after passing The Roanoker restaurant on the right) will not be allowed to make a left turn onto 23rd Street SW anymore.

And, off the record, as I was taking these pictures a police officer was on site nearby I assume to help enforce this new restriction. Just in the few minutes I was in the area 2 cars were pulled over in the parking lot of Towers Shopping Center, for what I don’t know for sure but I can probably take a guess.

Will this change have any affect on your drivng routes?

Noke News explores parts of Roanoke by foot, equipped with a camera and a notepad, in hopes of learning something new. Perhaps you will too.

This is Part 8 in an Exploring Roanoke series that covers: the current (as of May, 2008) entire nearly 6 miles of the Roanoke River Greenway, Wasena Park, The Skate Park, Smith Park, Piedmont Park, and lots of scenery along the way.

(For a general introduction to the greenway system in Roanoke, you may want to first visit a previous post.)

Distance: approx. 1/2 mile

Last time in Part 7, where the greenway appears to end near Roanoke Memorial Hospital, we took a slight detour to continue on our way.

After the break in the path, the greenway starts once again.

In my experience, this section of the greenway has considerably less foot and bicycle traffic than the previous sections (starting with Part 1).

However, along this way the Roanoke River is still never more than about a stone’s throw from the pathway. So, at anytime a slight diversion down at the water’s edge is only a handful of steps away.

Let’s continue the journey:

Close encounters with area citizens

As noticed in the last picture from Part 7, the pathway actually seems to nearly lead through the yards of some Roanoke residents.

In fact, at one point ahead a house is so close to the greenway path that I comfortably offered a friendly “Hello” to the owner without having to raise my voice even slightly.

I suppose they are used to passerbys.

Duck Crossing

Not too far ahead is where I encountered an unmarked duck crossing. I had seen them crossing the path before but wasn’t able to react quick enough to snap a photo.

But this time, (when actually on my way back coming in the opposite direction) the last duck moved just slow enough that I was able to capture the moment.

The last of a group of ducks cross the greenway path from the river to the backyard of a nearby house.

They seemed to congregate in the backyard of a nearby house and I can only assume that dinnertime was approaching via some free handouts from a friendly citizen.

Onward, a notable marker to the side of the path is a fenced off electrical site.

This electrical site marks about the halfway point along the Roanoke River Greenway

I only mention it as a way to designate distance traveled, which by my calculations bring us to a total of about 2 3/4 miles since everything started at Wasena Park.

Bridge at Walnut Avenue

In the background of the photo is also the bridge along Walnut Avenue. After walking a little bit further the bridge comes into better view.

Walnut Avenue bridge as seen from the Roanoke River Greenway

As many of you probably already know, the road that is Walnut Avenue here eventually leads up Mill Mountain and to the Star just a few short miles from this point.

Though it’s not part of the actual path I decided to climb the moderate hill to the right and up onto the sidewalk, and then to the bridge for some better views.

And the bridge very graciously provided an excellent view of where we had come from so far.

Looking back from the Walnut Avenue bridge onto the greenway in the direction of Roanoke Memorial Hospital

As well as a peek of what was ahead, and Piedmont Park is off in the distance a little bit out of sight.

Looking ahead onto the greenway from the Walnut Avenue bridge

But, we’ll check it out next time in Exploring Roanoke - The Roanoke River Greenway (Part 9).

It’s been a couple months since I last wrote about the construction going on in the vicinity of Towers Shopping Center. And, things sure have been changing.

Most notably, there is now a traffic light at the intersection with 23rd Street, which I believe has been frequently considered a popular shortcut between Brandon and Colonial Avenue.

New traffic light (at the bottom of the hill) now working on Brandon Avenue

This is all part of an effort by VDOT to help control congestion that can occur in the entire area, especially during peak times in the mornings and late afternoons. During these times, substantial traffic can back up as drivers attempt to exit from from I-581/Route 220 to Colonial Avenue in front of Towers Shopping Center.

And Brandon Avenue itself is a common route from the downtown area to other parts of the city and county, as well as to Salem. I for one travel this road almost daily driving home during rush hour.

From now on there will just be one exception, I may on occasion be required to stop at the new traffic light and allow drivers to turn left from 23rd Street to Brandon Avenue. Until now, making that turn seemed nearly impossible around the 5 o’clock hour in the late afternoon.

Cars on Brandon Avenue stop at a new traffic light to allow a bus to turn left from 23rd Street

I’m not necessarily a big fan of traffic lights in general but this seems like a overall a good move and had been increasingly necessary to better control the flow of traffic.

Will these new road changes cause you to alter your daily or infrequent driving routes at all?

For at least the next 7 days (according to the extended forecast by WDBJ7 as of 8/7/08) we’re not supposed to hit the 90s in temperature highs around Roanoke. Today is supposed to be the warmest at 85, then it starts dipping down into the lower 80s for the next several days.

And I even see some 50s (brrr!) in there for a couple overnight lows this weekend.

Summer still has about 6 weeks left and plenty of time to give us some more hot, and even hazy days. But, it seems like the temperature and humidity is starting to lessen ever so slightly.

My already sparingly used A/C unit is beginning to take a few more unscheduled breaks, and I can almost hear the rumbling of a school bus outside my window in the morning.

Well, I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself I suppose, since as a child I always cherished the last remaining time of summer.

Though, it does seem like this summer has been relatively mild and fairly pleasant, even if a bit on the dry side.

What do you think?

Looking for a magazine with insight into local arts and entertainment in the Roanoke Valley area? And for free, too? No problem, and here’s a brief review of some articles in the latest issue.

(The following is in addition to the typically several pages each issue devotes to covering upcoming performing arts, music, and other events. Never even heard of the magazine?  Visit this post first.)

Tourism Planning for “Staycationers” by James Sawyer

Gas prices are high, or the value of the US dollar has likely decreased, depending on how you look at things. And this article talks a little about what goes into marketing tourism towards the very people who live nearby (namely you and me) to stay and explore parts of Southwest Virginia.

Later, the author touches a bit on tourism in the area in general:

For most tourists who pass through on the Blue Ridge Parkway or the Appalachian Trail, Roanoke is a stop along the way with a quaint downtown market, an interesting rail heritage, a funky new art museum, and a neon star on a mountain.

What do you think?

Second Cuppa Joe by Joe Kennedy

Some of you may remember the original Cuppa Joe column in the Roanoke Times. Now, on the pages of City Magazine the author writes relatively light-hearted notes on various current events in and around Roanoke.

Back to School - Private Schools

A small feature on private schools in the area, consisting of a chart which lists such information as tuition costs and a brief description of the school.

This is also a publication with substantial advertising and for some reason I welcome that. It seems to go with the theme of local entertainment and also sheds light on some of the places and things in the area I may not have even known about.

Noke News explores parts of Roanoke by foot, equipped with a camera and a notepad, in hopes of learning something new. Perhaps you will too.

This is Part 7 in an Exploring Roanoke series that covers: the current (as of May, 2008) entire nearly 6 miles of the Roanoke River Greenway, Wasena Park, The Skate Park, Smith Park, Piedmont Park, and lots of scenery along the way.

(For a general introduction to the greenway system in Roanoke, you may want to first visit a previous post.)

Distance: approx. 1/2 mile

Up until this point, Parts 1-6 (approx 2 miles) that I’ve written about, as a whole seem to be the most popular section of the Roanoke River Greenway. But, this is only about 1/3 the length of the overall greenway.

For a little while myself I even thought, as pleasant a walk as it is being primarily along Wiley Drive, that it all ends near the entrance to Roanoke Memorial Hospital. After all, I didn’t see a sign or marker to let me know where to keep going.

So, where’s the rest of the greenway?

This part in the series serves mainly as a way to explain how the Roanoke River Greenway ends, and then starts again, and how to make the connection to keep going.

During Part 6, when the walk on Wiley Drive ends the pathway continues on a sidewalk. Roanoke Memorial Hospital in ahead in the distance, and Rivers Edge Park is on our right side across the street.

Walk under the railroad bridge and cross over Jefferson Street. Then, take a left on Hamilton Terrace and then left again onto Piedmost Street.

A sidewalk on Piedmont Street is on the opposite side of the road, so I typically cross over Piedmont and continue walking. A large parking garage will be on our right.

Walking along Piedmont Street, the greenway and river are ahead on the other side of the road.

Continue walking a short distance on the sidewalk until nearly at a lower entrance to the parking garage. Look across the street for a clearing, marked with red paint on the pavement.

Re-entering the Roanoke River Greenway, Piedmont Street is the road on the right.

This is where the Roanoke River Greenway picks back up, the river is still on our left side.

Getting to this point is a slight inconvenience in requiring having to cross streets and watch for automobiles, but after making the connection once or twice I found it much easier.

There is a bit of the downside part of a hill ahead, and then the path narrows back to the standard greenway widith.

Next up in Part 8: Piedmont Park and maybe a duck crossing.